Love hitting the slopes? You’re in good company; the 2022-2023 ski season in the United States was the busiest to date, with a total of 64.7 million skier visits, according to a report from the National Ski Areas Association. Contributing factors include a strong snow year in the Rockies and Pacific Southwest regions; increasing options for season passes and an increased desire to get outside, especially post-pandemic. That also means that owning a vacation home near a ski resort can be an excellent investment. Many such destinations also draw visitors year-round. Take Vermont for example: visitors flock to the state each fall to admire the foliage, in the winter to ski and snowboard, and in the warmer months to enjoy the Green Mountain State’s natural beauty and many lakes and rivers. To help potential buyers make a decision, property management company Vacasa compiled a list of the top places to invest in a winter vacation home, which includes median home price, annual gross rental revenue, and cap rate, which refers to the expected rate of return on a property. While real estate in these markets doesn’t come cheap, with median prices starting at around $310,000, the returns are high; in top markets, owners can earn an annual gross rental revenue in the six figures.
The top spots are:
Big Sky, Montana
Cap rate: 8%
Median home sales price: $730, 814
Annual gross rental revenue: $108,772
Killington, Vermont
Cap rate: 7.5%
Median home sales price: $361,007
Annual gross rental revenue: $46,052
Teton Village, Wyoming
Cap rate: 6.3%
Median home sales price: $2,158,856
Annual gross rental revenue: $190,033
Vail, Colorado
Cap rate: 5.1%
Median home sales price: $1,337,867
Annual gross rental revenue: $110,493
Stowe, Vermont
Cap rate: 5.1%
Median home sales price: $700,158
Annual gross rental revenue: $58,734
See the full list here.